E028023027

Page 1

Research Inventy: International Journal Of Engineering And Science Vol.2, Issue 8 (March 2013), Pp 23-27 Issn(e): 2278-4721, Issn(p):2319-6483, Www.Researchinventy.Com

Moisture Dependant Physical Properties of Sunflower Seed (Psh 569) SURESH BHISE1, KAUR A2 AND MANIKANTAN M R3 1,2

Department of Food Science and Technology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. 3 Food Grains and Oilseed Processing Division, CIPHET, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.

Abstract: Physical properties of sunflower seeds were evaluated as a function of moisture content. Various physical properties of seeds and their fractions are dependent on moisture content and appear to be important in the design of handling and processing equipment. The geometric mean diameter and sphericity of the seed were 6.69 mm and 0.63 respectively. In the moisture range from 10-18% w.b., the bulk density of the rewetted seed decreased from 330.7 to 320.88 kg/m3, true density increased from 688.10 to 725.56 kg/m3, thousand kernel weight (TKW) increased from 75.31 to 78.86 g and porosity increased from 51.94 to 55.77 %. In the same moisture range the static coefficient of friction varied from 0.51 to 0.61 for seed different surfaces, while the angle of repose varied from 18.10 to 24.07 for seed. Hardness and initial cracking force for sunflower seed decreased with increase in moisture content.

Key Words: Moisture, Physical property, Porosity, Sunflower. I.

INTRODUCTION

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L) is one of the world’s leading oilseed crops, second only to soybean for total oil production. Some physical properties of this seed and comparison with other seeds are considered to be necessary for the proper design of equipment for handling, conveying, separation, dehulling, drying, mechanical expression of oil, storage and other processes (Kachru et al 1993). Despite an extensive search, no published literature was found on the detailed physical properties of sunflower seed and their dependency on operational parameters which would be useful for the design of dehulling and storage systems. The properties of different types of grains and seeds have been determined by other researchers such as Ougt (1998) for white Lupin; Baryeh (2002) for millet; Cetin (2007) for barbunia bean; Ogunjimi et al. (2002) for locust bean seed and Coskun et al. (2006) for sweet corn seed. Bulk density, true density and porosity can be useful in sizing grain hoppers and storage facilities. They can affect the rate of heat and mass transfer of moisture during aeration and drying processes. Grain bed with low porosity will have greater resistance to water vapor escape during the drying process, which may lead to higher power to drive the aeration fans. The static coefficient of friction is used to determine the angle at which chutes must be positioned in order to achieve consistent flow of materials through the chute. Such information is useful in sizing motor requirements for grain transportation and handling (Ghasemi Varnamkhasti et al 2007). In this study, some physical properties of sunflower seed were determined, namely, size and shape, bulk and true densities, porosity, static coefficient of friction against the different material surfaces and angle of repose at various moisture contents in the range of 10-18% w.b. Although moisture content has been reported to influence several physical properties, Gupta and Prakash (1992) reported non-significant variations of sphericity for a wide range of moisture contents in safflower seed. An increase in seed moisture content was found to increase the angle of repose in fababean (Fraser et al 1978) as well as the coefficient of static friction in safflower seeds (Gupta and Prakash 1992). In this study, some physical properties were investigated, namely, size and shape, densities, coefficient of static friction against different material surfaces, thousand kernel weight and angle of repose of sunflower seed at various moisture contents ranging between 10-18% w.b.

II.

Material And Methods

For this study, the short duration variety of sunflower PSH 569 maturing within 90-100 d and widely grown in Punjab, India was selected. Six bulk samples each consisting of 5 kg of seeds was procured from the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during July 2012. Seeds were packed in double layered low density polyethylene bags and stored at low temperature (4Âą1oC). The method of random sampling was used for sample preparation (Dutta et al 1988). For each individual seed three principal dimensions namely length, width and

23


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.